CLEVELAND – The National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA) announced the 2021 Hall of Fame class. The list of inductees includes: Lynda Goodrich, Western Washington University; Dan Guerrero, UCLA; Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul University; Craig Littlepage, University of Virginia; Dave Roach, Fordham University; Cathie Schweitzer, Springfield College and Julie Soriero, MIT. The honorees will be recognized in conjunction with the 56th Annual NACDA & Affiliates Convention, to be held virtually, July 27-28.
Lynda Goodrich, Western Washington University
After more than four decades as a ground-breaking director of athletics and women’s basketball coach at Western Washington University (WWU), Lynda Goodrich retired in May 2013. During her 26 years as athletics director, the Vikings won nine team national titles, the only ones in school history at the time, and she guided the program in moving from the NAIA to NCAA Division II.
Besides the move to Division II, Goodrich lists adding scholarships, improving facilities and hiring outstanding coaches and staff as her top accomplishments in helping move the program forward. She also implemented a marketing program, better game management and refurbishments of Carver Gym including LED signage and a video board. Under Goodrich’s direction, WWU student-athletes also graduated at rates well above the national average for NCAA Division II. With Goodrich at the helm, the Vikings took nine all-sports championships in the first 12 years of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, which began in 2001. She retired with a string of five straight.
A member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 2003-05, Goodrich was recognized as Athletics Director of the Year at the 2006 NACDA & Affiliates Convention. She received the D2 ADA Lifetime Achievement Award in 2014.
Goodrich posted a 411-125 record in 19 seasons (1971-90) as women’s basketball coach, never having a losing season, reaching post-season play 18 times and winning 20 games 13 times. A finalist for National Division II Coach of the Year honors in 1981 and 1982, she directed the Vikings to two quarterfinal finishes at the NAIA National Tournament; and three regional titles and subsequent trips to the AIAW Nationals.
She is a member of five other halls of fame: WWU (1999), NAIA (1996), Northwest Women’s Sports Federation (2000), Snohomish Country Sports (2011), and Lake Stevens High School (2004).
Dan Guerrero, UCLA
Dan Guerrero retired as UCLA’s athletics director on July 1, 2020 after leading the Bruins athletics department for 18 years.
The Bruins won 32 NCAA team championships in 15 different sports during Guerrero’s tenure – the most under any sitting NCAA Division I athletics director at the time – and he was at the department’s helm when UCLA athletics became the first to win 100 NCAA team championships. Under Guerrero’s guidance, UCLA won 73 conference championships in 16 different sports, produced more than 800 All-Americans and featured 11 Honda Award winners, including the 2003-04 and the 2018-19 Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year. In his 18 years at UCLA, the Bruins finished second five times and third four times in the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings.
Guerrero served as NACDA President in 2011-12 and was a three-time NACDA Athletics Director of the Year honoree (2013-14 and 2006-07 with UCLA and 2001-02 with UC Irvine). In 2017, he was honored by the National Football Foundation with the John L. Toner Award, which recognizes an athletics director who has demonstrated superior administrative abilities and shown outstanding dedication to college athletics and particularly college football.
Over the course of his career, Guerrero had significant experience in committee work at both the NCAA and conference levels, having chaired a number of committees along the way. He served on the Division I Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee, which he previously chaired for two years, and he also chaired an NCAA Working Group on behalf of the Division I Men’s Basketball Rice Commission. Guerrero was a member of the Rose Bowl Management Committee for 17 years and was also a member of the Board of Directors of the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches), the Institute for Sport and Social Justice, the Los Angeles Metropolitan YMCA, the Southern California Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the McLendon Foundation and the United States International University Sports Federation, where he began serving his term as president in July 2020. As the Chair of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee in 2009-10, he was involved with the negotiation of the new $10.8 billion, 14-year NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament television package, as well as the decision to expand the Tournament to 68 teams.
Guerrero came to UCLA from UC Irvine, where he had served as UCI’s fifth permanent director of athletics for 10 years (1992-2002), helping to elevate that program to unprecedented success. Prior to arriving at UCI, Guerrero worked at Cal State Dominguez Hills, where he led that program to national prominence while serving as athletics director for five years (1988-92).
Jean Lenti Ponsetto, DePaul University
Following an illustrious 42-year career at DePaul University, Jean Lenti Ponsetto retired as one of the nation’s most widely respected leaders in intercollegiate athletics and a driving force behind the unprecedented expansion and development of DePaul’s athletics program. She began her athletics career as an assistant women’s basketball coach and head softball coach after having been a four-sport student- athlete participating in basketball, tennis, softball and volleyball. She transitioned into athletics administration in 1982 and after years of working through the ranks was promoted to director of athletics in 2002.
During Ponsetto’s tenure, 14 of the 15 Blue Demon programs represented the school in 57 NCAA team championships as either conference champions or at-large selections along with 154 NCAA individual championships appearances – including 17-straight NCAA appearances by the women’s basketball program and two trips to the Women’s College World Series for the softball program.
Under her leadership the Blue Demons garnered 80 NCAA APR Awards, 34 Academic All-Americans and led the BIG EAST in team Academic Excellence Awards and Scholar-Athletes of the Year. The Blue Demons’ collective cumulative GPA annually was over 3.5.
She was responsible for fundraising and overseeing the design and development of nine athletics facilities projects including Wintrust Arena, the Sullivan Athletic Center, Wish Soccer Field, Cacciatore Softball Stadium, the John and Dale Melbourne Herklotz Letterwinners Plaza and Champions Courtyard, the Cherry Family Indoor Track, the outdoor track at Lane Stadium, the short game facility at Ruffled Feathers Golf Club and the indoor golf practice facility on DePaul’s Lincoln Park campus. Prior to her retirement, she collaborated with university leadership, trustees and donors to put in motion the design and renovation of the Sullivan Athletic Center for basketball and volleyball while securing the first major gift for the construction of a new fieldhouse for all sports. In addition to fundraising for facilities and program support, athletics added 54 new scholarships for student-athletes. During her tenure as AD, Ponsetto and her leadership team regularly set revenue records while at the same time reducing the university’s subsidy to athletics by 50 percent.
Ponsetto served the intercollegiate athletics community with a combined 62 years of service highlighted by leadership roles, including vice chair of the NCAA Council and as Chairperson of the NCAA Championships Cabinet, the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee, the NCAA Women’s Basketball Oversight Committee and Collegiate Women’s Sports Awards (CWSA). She served as DI-AAA ADA President in 2009-10, as a NACDA Officer from 2017-20, and was set to take over as NACDA President prior to her retirement.
Ponsetto has earned several awards for her outstanding work at DePaul and for her leadership serving the NCAA members and student-athletes. A two-time NACDA Athletics Director of the Year (20015-16 and 2008-09) and the DI-AAA ADA Builders’ Award recipient in 2018, she is a member of the DePaul Athletic Hall of Fame, the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame and the National Italian American Hall of Fame.
Craig Littlepage, University of Virginia
Craig Littlepage amassed over 44 years of experience in higher education, serving as an assistant men’s basketball coach, head coach, and as an administrator. He served as director of athletics at the University of Virginia (UVA) from August 2001 through December 2017.
During Littlepage’s tenure, Virginia athletics enjoyed its most successful era to date. In 2002, Virginia introduced “Uncompromised Excellence” as its brand statement to support the athletics department’s 10-year goals. During the 10-year period from 2002 through the spring of 2012, UVA won seven NCAA team championships and 53 ACC championships while graduating 93 percent of student-athletes who completed their eligibility. More than $350 million was raised during this 10-year period by the Virginia Athletics Foundation, including $130 million for the construction of John Paul Jones Arena and $140 million in annual giving. In February 2013, the goals were re-established for the current 10-year period that lasts through the spring of 2022.
The first African-American athletics director in Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) history, Littlepage was named the Black Coaches Association’s “Athletics Administrator of the Year” in 2003 and 2006. He was also listed on Sports Illustrated’s list of the 101 most influential minorities in sports in 2003 and 2004. In March 2005, Littlepage was named one of Black Enterprise magazine’s “Most Powerful African-Americans in Sports.”
Littlepage first came to UVA as an assistant men’s basketball coach in 1976, but served as a member of the athletics administration since 1990, when he was appointed an assistant athletics director. He then spent four years as the associate director of athletics for programs and six years (1995-2001) as senior associate director of athletics.
Littlepage held many leadership roles within the NCAA, ACC, the University-at-large and in professional organizations. He served on the NACDA Executive Committee from 2006-10. In February 2002, he was appointed to the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee and served a five-year term. In 2005-06, Littlepage served as the chair of the Men’s Division I Basketball Committee and administered its NCAA Tournament selection process.
In December 2019, Littlepage retired from his role as special advisor to the UVA President and director of athletics, emeritus. He currently serves on the University of Pennsylvania’s Athletics Board of Advisors and on the selection committee of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
Dave Roach, Fordham University
After a 45-year career in college athletics, Dave Roach retired as Fordham University director of athletics in June 2020. He led the Fordham athletics department for eight years. Roach also served as athletics director at Colgate University (2004-12) and Brown University (1990-2004). Prior to moving to the administrative side, Roach served as head swimming coach at the University of Tennessee (1986-90) and Brown (1978-86).
During Roach’s tenure at Fordham, the Rams athletics programs earned 12 Atlantic 10 titles along with one Patriot League championship. Over that time, the Rams made 16 NCAA appearances and women’s basketball competed in four WNIT bids. Fordham sent three teams to the NCAA Championships in 2013-14 for the first time in school history, followed that with three more in 2014-15, and again had three teams advance in 2019.
In his eight years leading the Colgate athletics department, the Raiders placed 14 teams in NCAA tournaments and captured 19 Patriot League titles and one ECAC hockey regular-season championship. Colgate student-athletes also earned 18 All-American honors and 34 students were named Academic All-American scholars. In 2010, Colgate was No. 1 in NCAA Division I with its 100 percent graduation rate.
While Roach was at Brown, the teams captured 62 Ivy League or Eastern championships, made 36 NCAA Tournament appearances and won eight national championships, including Brown’s first four NCAA Championships.
Roach is a Past President of FCS ADA (2001-02) and NACDA (2010-11) and was a member of the NACDA Executive Committee from 2003-07. He was recognized as Athletics Director of the Year at the 2010 NACDA & Affiliates Convention.
Roach was inducted into the Rhode Island Aquatic Hall of Fame in 1988, the Brown University Hall of Fame in 1989 and received a Springfield College Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2018. He currently serves on the Lake Placid 2023 World University Winter Games Organizing Committee.
Cathie Schweitzer, Springfield College
Cathie Schweitzer was Springfield College’s first ever female director of athletics, taking the reins in 2000 after serving as associate athletics director for the previous four years. She led the department through June 2015.
Under Schweitzer’s direction, Springfield captured 59 conference championships, had 24 individual national champions, and eight team national champions. As a result, Springfield finished in the top-25 of the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup standings five times during her tenure, including an institution-best 13th place during the 1999-2000 campaign. She instilled a commitment to giving back to the community as Springfield College athletics continually received the NADIIIAA Community Service Award.
One of the highlights of Schweitzer’s tenure was the launch of the Friends of Springfield College Athletics, which began in the 2013-14 academic year as the chief fundraising vehicle for the athletics department.
For her efforts, she earned multiple national honors, including NACWAA Division III Administrator of Year, NACDA Athletics Director of the Year, and ECAC Female Administrator of the Year. Schweitzer is a Past President of NADIIIAA, and in 2004, was elected the chair of the NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Selection Committee. In addition, she was a sought-after presenter at NCAA and NACDA Conventions on issues such as gender equity, coaching evaluations and fundraising.
Before coming to Springfield College, she held teaching, coaching, and sports administration positions at Albion College, University of Iowa, Grinnell College, University of Oklahoma and Bowling Green State University.
Julie Soriero, MIT
Julie Soriero arrived at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in July 2007 as the Director of Athletics and the Department Head of the Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation (DAPER). Retiring in January 2020, she led MIT intercollegiate athletics through a transformation into one of the top intercollegiate athletic programs in the country.
Boasting one the largest athletics programs in the country with 33 varsity sports, under her leadership, MIT captured numerous New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) Championships and was awarded both the men’s and women’s NEWMAC President’s Cups from 2016-17 through 2018-19. Competitively, MIT finished consistently in the top 10 in the Learfield IMG College Directors’ Cup for a number of years during her tenure, with a second-place finish in 2017-18.
MIT also sits as the leader in NCAA Division III for Academic All-Americans. In addition to their competitive success, Soriero also focused on student development and initiated a leadership program for student-athletes titled a “Culture of Care” which focused on sexual assault prevention, mental health, diversity and inclusion and secured an endowment fund to support these efforts and programming.
Since her initial arrival at MIT, Soriero was a tireless and successful fundraiser. Over her MIT career, she raised well over $25 million for a variety of capital project improvements or new construction. Additionally, Soriero fundraised for four head coaching endowments ($2 million), two director-level endowments ($2.5 million), and completed the fund-raising for two coaching endowments that were initiated prior to her arrival.
In 2018, Soriero was the recipient of the prestigious NCAA President’s Pat Summitt Award which honors the recipient for significant lifetime achievement in demonstrating a devotion to the development of student-athletes and making a positive impact on their lives. She has received additional recognition for her leadership, including the 2014-15 Division III Under Armour Athletics Director of the Year by NACDA and the 2012 Division III Administrator of the Year by Women Leaders in College Sports.
She came to MIT from Colorado College, where she spent nine years overall that included four as the director of athletics. Before Colorado College, Soriero was the women’s basketball head coach at the University of Pennsylvania for 10 years and overall, she coached for 21 years before transitioning into her career as a full-time administrator.
Soriero has been invited to conduct numerous intercollegiate program reviews on other campuses and is currently a consultant with SHIFT Executive Coaching with a focus on intercollegiate athletics administration mentoring, leadership and career development.
About NACDA
NACDA, now in its 56th year, is the professional and educational Association for more than 22,000 college athletics administrators at more than 2,200 institutions throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico. More than 6,500 athletics administrators annually attend NACDA & Affiliates Convention Week. Additionally, NACDA manages 17 professional associations and four foundations. For more information on NACDA, visit www.nacda.com.
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